India will add 11.4 GW of solar capacity annually: S&P Global

Owing to the general elections this year, little progress on the policy front is expected in the near term, according to the report.

February 11, 2019 Uma Gupta

Indian government has set a 100 GW by 2022 target for solar capacity, including 60 GW from utility-scale.

Image: Yann Forget, Wikimedia Commons

India will add 11.4 GW of solar capacity annually for the next few years on the back of strong government push to achieve its targets, according to a report by S&P Global Platts Analytics.

However, factors such as land availability, financial health of DISCOMs, and grid availability could prevent a larger solar deployment in the medium term, quoted Economic Times from the report titled Global Solar Outlook (2019-2025).

According to the report, the upcoming 2019 general elections would be an important event for the sector, and as a result, little progress on the policy front was expected in the near term.

Under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission, a 20 GW by 2022 target was set up, which was subsequently increased to 100 GW, including 60 GW from utility-scale.

Citing the Central Electricity Authority of India’s data, the report also said that India’s solar capacity reached 25.8 GW at the end of 2018—with at least 13.8 GW under construction and 22.8 GW tendered under various schemes and state-level allocations.

Notably, in the interim budget 2019 announced recently, solar was seen as a no-show by many from the industry as no subsidies and incentives were announced.

Commenting on the budget, Vinay Rustagi, managing director of consultancy Bridge To India, told pv magazine: “We were not expecting much other than possibly allocation of some funds for KUSUM [the Kisan Urja Suraksha Evam Utthaan Mahaabhiyan solar farming program], particularly given that elections are around the corner. Overall, it is disappointing for the sector, but we said at the beginning of the year that we are going to see little government initiative this year.”

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